Wednesday, May 10, 2017

NEW DELHI: Flying to western Europe for a summer break may not remain just a dream if SpiceJet's plans for medium to long haul international flights work out. The low cost carrier (LCC) is currently working out the economies of this model and says return fares could be about Rs 25,000 to places like London, Paris and Amsterdam in all-economy seating wide body aircraft. Return fares on these sectors is mostly upwards of Rs 40,000 on full service Indian and foreign airlines, especially in peak travel seasons.
This January SpiceJet had placed an order for up to 205 Boeing aircraft — 155 B-737 and an optional order for 50 more that was a mix of wide and narrow body planes. "We are evaluating the low cost long haul model for which an optional order for wide body planes has been placed. There is a good market for this segment in India if a good product is offered at the right price. Imagine the demand that a fare of Rs 10,000-15,000 on Delhi-London will have," SpiceJet chairman Ajay Singh had said on January 13 while signing the deal with Boeing.
The airline has made headway with those plans and shared some key features with TOI. "SpiceJet will follow the same low cost/no frills model on its long haul routes as it does on its domestic and short haul international sectors where passengers pay for additional services like meals, seat selection, priority check-in, priority boarding and excess baggage. However, unlike some other international LCCs, the first (check-in) bag would be free of charge," said a SpiceJet official.
A leading international long haul LCC, for instance charges $32 for a check-in bag of up to 20 kg — one way -- on its India-Southeast Asia flights. So if SpiceJet is able to offer this service at no extra cost, that will be significant saving for flyers.
09/05/17 Saurabh Sinha/The Times Of India